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Anthropologists Discover New Monkey Species

By James Devitt

September 14, 2012

A new species of monkey has been discovered in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by a team of researchers that included NYU anthropologists Andrew Burrell and Anthony Tosi as well as former NYU doctoral student Kate Detwiler.

Their findings were reported in the online journal PLoS One.

In 2007, a previously undescribed monkey known locally as “lesula” was found in the forests of DRC during a field survey. Named Cercopithecus lomamiensis, it is the second new species of African monkey to be discovered in the past 28 years. The researchers suggested C. lomamiensis remained unknown because the region it populates was not explored by scientists until relatively recently.

C. lomamiensis is a member of the tribe Cercopithecini, or guenons, which are endemic to sub-Saharan Africa and occupy a range of habitats. It is a medium-sized monkey, with adult males measuring 18 to 26 inches and weighing nine to 15 pounds.

The research team made the determination it had discovered a new species after employing a series of methodological approaches. These included anatomical comparisons, 3-D measures of skull shape, and DNA analyses. All showed the lesula to be distinct from other guenons. The genetic work, which was conducted at NYU, revealed that the lesula split from its closest relatives over 2 million years ago. The researchers bolstered these approaches with recorded measurements of C. lomamiensis’ vocal behavior, which showed frequencies similar to, but not the same as, other species.

“The discovery underlines the fact that we still have gaps in our most basic understanding of the natural world,” observes Burrell, a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Anthropology’s Center for the Study of Human Origins. “Moreover, it highlights a remarkable but poorly known forest.

“Recent surveys have shown that the forest also harbors okapi, bonobos, and elephants, as well as 10 other primate species or subspecies. While Congolean forests are under extreme threat, this forest is very remote and is an excellent candidate for conservation. If efforts are made now to protect it, the lesula and many other plant and animal species can be saved from extinction.”

Tosi is an affiliated researcher at the Center for the Study of Human Origins; Detwiler received her doctoral degree from NYU in 2010 and is now an assistant professor at Florida Atlantic University.

A new species of monkey has been discovered in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by a team of researchers that included NYU anthropologists Andrew Burrell and Anthony Tosi as well as former NYU doctoral student Kate Detwiler. Named Cercopithecus lomamiensis, pictured above, it is the second new species of African monkey to be discovered in the past 28 years. Image courtesy of Christina Bergey.